Jeremy Corbyn, the MP for Islington North

0.000057 per cent. This was the rate of voter fraud in the 2019 General Election.

30 per cent. This is how many children in the UK are living in poverty.

Just one of these statistics has frightened the Conservatives into action. From May, anybody wishing to vote will have to show photographic ID at the polling station, in an apparent attempt to tackle the scourge of voter fraud.

Never mind the 1 in 3 children in the UK living in poverty, or the 3 in 5 over-65s worrying about heating their homes.

Instead, it’s the 33 counts of fraud out of 58,000,000 votes cast in 2019 that keep this government up at night.

Refusing to solve the real problems people are facing, the government has decided instead to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

Voter ID is not about tackling electoral fraud. It is about creating yet another barrier to democratic participation. This barrier will not affect all populations equally. If you’re working long hours, juggling caring responsibilities, or managing your own health needs, then applying for voter ID is unlikely to be at the top of your to-do list. It’s also much harder to get the relevant documents if you lack access to technology, or if English is your second language.

It is difficult to see how these laws are not – in many ways – designed to exclude groups most critical of the Conservative government. Why, for example, is an Oyster card for 60+ travellers an acceptable form of voter ID, but a near-identical Oyster card for 18+ travellers is not?

Disproportionately targeting those who are younger, poorer, disabled and from minority ethnic backgrounds, the government’s new voter ID laws violate the basic principle of political equality.

Voter ID is just one cog in a political system that concentrates power, decision-making and wealth in the hands of the few, while alienating and disempowering the rest. Thirteen years of austerity and privatisation have plunged millions into destitution. Our housing market has locked an entire generation out of economic security. And the commodification of education has saddled millions with debt.

It is no coincidence that those who have borne the harshest brunt of Tory rule are the same people who will find it hardest to register their discontent at the ballot box.

This country is characterised by poverty, inequality and injustice; voter ID laws suppress those who have most to gain from something different.

Ultimately, however, whether you vote Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green or Independent (or even if you choose to abstain), this is an affront to something that binds us all together: democracy. The government has already curtailed our rights to strike and protest. Now, the right to vote. Across the board, our civil liberties are under attack, stolen and held captive by a political class that treats democracy as an inconvenience.

Our priority must be to resist and reverse the draconian legislation. However, as long as this legislation exists, we must do all we can to limit its damage. That means doing something the government has been reluctant to do: making people aware of this policy in the first place.

It isn’t in the government’s interests to publicise the new requirements, which partly explains why Voter Authority Certificates have had an alarmingly low take-up so far.

Some groups have taken the matter into their own hands; the National Union of Students have teamed up with CitizenCard to offer students free photo ID (usually £15). This is part of their wider Turn Up campaign, which also aims to increase voter registration and empower young voters to make their voices heard.

We will see the effects of Voter ID on the 4th of May, when more than 8,000 seats across 230 councils in England are up for election. Local elections are not being held everywhere. Like the rest of London, there are no elections in Islington this year. However, there is no reason to delay: we need to defend our right to vote now. After all, next year will likely see voters heading to polls for the General Election, too. As I said in an earlier piece, those of us who believe in transformative change are not going anywhere.

So don’t let the Tories get away with their strategy of voter suppression. Democracy – and the future of Islington North – is at stake.

• Jeremy Corbyn is the MP for Islington North
• You can check whether you have acceptable ID here: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID
• If you do not have the correct ID, you can apply here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate
• NUS are offering free voter ID for students here: https://www.nus.org.uk/photo-id